Closure latch assembly



June 16, 1964 w. DALE 3,137,518

CLOSURE LATCH ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 1, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mmvroa Zi/alfer 0066 ATTORNEY June 16, 1964 w, L 3,137,518

CLOSURE LATCH ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 1, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ZZ/dfer Ode ATTORNEY June 16, 1964 w. DALE CLOSURE LATCH ASSEMBLY INVENTOR. 2mm Gale ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 1, 1960 United States Patent 3,137,518 CLOSURE LATCH ASSEMBLY Waiter Dale, Roseville, Mich, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 1, 1969, Ser. No. 66,615 7 Claims. (Cl. 292-36) This invention relates to closure latch assemblies and particularly to a closure latch assembly for a swingable vehicle closure.

The latch assembly of this invention generally includes a pair of slide bolt assemblies which are movable between latched and unlatched positions with respect to striker assemblies mounted on spaced body structural members defining opposite side edges of a body closure opening. An intermediately disposed latch operating means is operatively connected to the bolt assemblies for moving these assemblies between their latched and unlatched positions.

One of the features of this invention is that it provides a latch assembly which includes a pair of operating levers respectively connected to latch bolt assemblies, with the levers being interconnected for simultaneous movement in opposite directions with respect to each other, and with operating means being provided to operate one of the members and thereby simultaneously operate both of the slide bolt assemblies. Another feature of this invention is that it provides a latch operating means for a pair of bolt assemblies, with the latch operating means including a pair of oppositely movable levers which are interconnected for simultaneous movement, a first manual operating means operatively connected to one of the levers, a second operating means operatively connected to this same lever, and blocking means for blocking operation of the operating means to retain the bolt assemblies in latched position.

A modification of this invention provides a latch assembly for a vehicle closure which includes a pair of oppositely movable bolt assemblies and latch operating means therefor, with the operating means including a manual operating handle for moving the bolt assemblies between latched and unlatched positions and being operable to positively lock the bolt assemblies in latch position in one terminal position of the handle, with the bolt assemblies acting to return the handle from the other terminal position thereof to an intermediate position upon manual release of the handle and to retain the handle in this intermediate position when the closure is closed, with the handle being manually movable from the intermediate position thereof to the one terminal position thereof to positively lock the bolt assemblies in latched position thereof and the closed position of the closure.

These and other features of this invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a vehicle body having a swingable closure and embodying a closure latch assembly according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG- URE 1 showing a bolt assembly in latched position;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 showing the bolt assembly in unlatched position; and

FIGURE 8 is a view of a modification of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, a vehicle body 10, which is illustrated as a panel type delivery truck, includes a side door 12 mounted on the body by suitable upper and lower hinge assemblies 14 for swinging movement between a closed position, as shown, and an open position, not shown. Door 12 is latched to the roof rail structure 16 of the body and the rocker panel structure 18 of the body by upper and lower like slide bolt latch assemblies 20 which engage striker means mounted on the structures 16 and 18, which also define the respective upper and lower edges of the body door opening. The bolt assemblies 20 are operated from an intermediately disposed latch operating means 22. This latch operating means may be operated from the outside of the body by means of a suitable handle 24, may be operated from the inside of the body by a suitable handle 26, may be locked from the outside of the body by a key cylinder assembly 28, and may be locked from the inside of the body by a push button assembly 30.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 2 through 5 of the drawings, the latch operating means 22 will be described.

The latch operating means includes a support frame 32 of generally U shaped cross section having a base wall 34 and a pair of side walls 36 and 38. Wall 34 is adapted to be disposed against the rear or lock pillar face of the door 12 and secured thereto by suitable bolts which are received within nuts 40 staked to the wall 34 and disposed within embossments 42 thereof. The wall 38 is disposed oppositely of and adjacent to the outer wall or panel of the door 12 and the wall 36 is disposed oppositely of and adjacent to the inner wall or panel of the door. By locating the frame 32 in this position, the glassrun channel assembly for the door window 44, FIG- URE 1, may pass between the walls 36 and 38 and adjacent the wall 34 to provide for a door window glass of maximum possible width.

As shown in FIGURE 3 and 5, an ofiset L shaped bellcrank lever 46 is pivoted at 48 to an embossment 50 of wall 34. One leg 47 of the lever is pivotally secured to the lower end of a shiftable rod 52 which connects the lever 46 with the upper slide bolt latch assembly 20. The other leg 49 of the lever 46 includes a notch 54 which receives a gear type tooth 56 of a generally T shaped bellcrank lever 58, whereby the bellcrank levers 46 and 58 are geared together for simultaneous swinging movement in opposite directions. The lever 58 is pivoted at 60 to an embossment 62 of wall 34. One leg 61 of the lever 58 is pivotally secured to one end of a like shiftable rod 52, which connects the lever 58 with the lower slide bolt latch assembly 20 whereby levers 46 and 58 are simultaneously swingable in opposite directions with respect to each other to simultaneously operate the upper and lower slide bolt latch assemblies 20. As shown in FIGURE 4, the leg 47 of lever 46 swings through a slot 64 provided in wall 36 and the leg 61 of the lever 58 swings within a slot 66 also provided in this Wall.

' Referring now particularly to FIGURES l and 4 of the drawings, the inside operating means and the inside blocking means for the latch operating means 22 will be described. As indicated in FIGURE 1, the inside operating handle 26 is pivotally connected to one end of a shiftable rod 68, the other end of which is pivotally connected to an inside operating lever '70, as shown in FIGURE 4. Lever 70 is pivoted at 72 to an embossment 74, FIGURE 3, of wall 36, and includes a notch 76 which receives the leg 61 of lever 58 therethrough. Upon movement of the handle 26 to shift the rod 68 rearwardly of the body, lever 70 will swing clockwise about pivot 72 to engage the leg 61 of lever 58 and thereby swing the lever clockwise about its pivot 60 as viewed in FIGURE 3, to simultaneously swing the lever 46 counterclockwise about its pivot 48 and simultaneously shift the rods 52 toward each other and operate assemblies 20.

A blocking lever 7-8 is pivoted at 89 to an embossment 82, FIGURE 3, of wall 36 and includes an arcuate shaped edge 84 which is adapted to be disposed in adjacent spaced relationship to a complementary arcuate shaped edge portion 86 of lever 78 to thereby block swinging movement of lever 78 about pivot 72 when the inside operating handle 26 is operated. The lever 78 is movable between a blocking position, as shown in full lines in FIGURE 4, and an unblocking position 78', as shown in dot-dash lines therein, with the blocking lever being maintained in either of these positions by a torsion type over center spring 88 having one leg 90 secured within an opening in lever 78 and the other leg 92 secured within an opening in the wall 36. The lower bent end of a rod 94 of the push button assembly 30 extends through an arcuate slot 95 in wall 36 and within an opening 96 in lever 78 to thereby connect the lever to assembly 30 for movement of the lever between its blocking and its unblocking positions, 78 and 78, respectively, when the assembly 30 is raised and depressed. A lanced tab 98 on wall 36 acts as a limit stop for the spring 88 to thereby prevent movement of the spring beyond its position 88' and movement of the blocking lever 78 past its unblocking position 7 8.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 2, 3 and of the drawings, the outside operating means for the latch operating means 22 will be described. As best shown in FIGURE 3, a headed bushing 100 is received within a flanged opening 102 in wall 38 of the frame. The inner end of the bushing is provided with opposite flats 104 and is received within a complementary shaped opening provided in a lever 186 to thereby slidably and non-rotatably couple the lever 106 to the bushing 180. The bushing 188 and the lever 106 are retained in place against opposite sides of the flanged opening 102 by means of a split ring 168 received within a suitable groove provided on the inner end of the bushing. As best shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3, the bushing 188 is provided with a square shaped bore 110 which receives a like shaped shaft 112 secured to the handle 24 to thereby slidably and nonrotatably couple the outside operating handle 24 to the lever 186.

The lever 186 is pivoted at 114 to one end of a shiftable link 116, the other end of which is pivoted at 118 to an offset lever 120. As best shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings, lever 120 is pivoted at 122 to the outside of wall 38 and includes a notched end 124 which receives the leg 126 of lever 58 therethrough. It can be seen that upon operation of the handle 24 to rotate the lever 186 clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 5, the link 116 will be shifted upwardly and to the left, as viewed in this figure, to swing the lever 120 counterclockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 5, about its pivot 122 or clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 2, whereby the notched end 124 of the lever will engage the leg 126 of lever 58 to swing the lever 58 clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 3, and simul taneously swing lever 46 to operate the upper and lower slide bolt latch assemblies 20 as previously described. Thus, the lever 58 is connected to both the inside and the outside operating means and it will be further noted that operation of one will simultaneously operate the other, whereby the handles 24 and 26 are simultaneously operable.

As shown in FIGURE 2, leg 126 extends outwardly through a slot 127 in wall 38. Also, as shown in this figure, and in FIGURE 5, a lateral tab 128 on link 116 is adapted to engage the edge of wall 38 to limit shifting movement of this link relative to the Wall when the outside handle 24 is operated.

As shown in FIGURE 5, one end of a coil tension spring 130 is hooked within an apertured lateral tab 131 of lever 166 to bias the lever counterclockwise at all times,

with the lever being located against the action of the spring 131 by an edge 132 thereon engaging the edge of an embossed stop 133 provided in wall 38. The other end of the spring 138 is hooked within an apertured lateral tab 134 of a blocking lever 136 which is pivoted at 138 to a U-shaped bracket 140. As best shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawings, bracket 140 includes a pair of lateral flanges 142 which are welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the wall 38 on opposite sides of an embossment 144 therein. Bracket 140 includes a lateral extension 146 which is spaced slightly from wall 34 and is provided with a pair of ribs 148 which slidably bear 7 against the intermeshing legs of the bellcranks 46 and 58 to maintain these legs in coplanar meshing engagement with each other. Extension 146 terminates in an offset flange 150 which is welded or otherwise secured to the wall 34, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 of the drawings.

As shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, wall 38 and bracket 148 are provided with aligned arcuate slots 152 and 153, respectively, having their centers at the center of the pivot 138. The blocking lever 136 is provided with a square shaped opening 154 which swings relative to the slots 152 and 153 and receives the inner end 156 of the key cylinder assembly 28 therethrough to interconnect this assembly with the blocking lever 136.

As indicated in FIGURE 5, the blocking lever 136 is movable between a blocking position, as shown in full lines therein, and an unblocking position 136, as shown in dot-dash lines therein. When the lever 136 is in blocking position, an edge 158 of the lever abuts against a lateral tab 160 of the link 116 in order to prevent any shifting movement of this link and thereby prevent operation of the assemblies 20 by means of the outside handle 24. When the blocking lever is in its unblocking position, the tab 134 engages against an edge 162 of bracket 140 to thereby locate the blocking lever in this position against the action of the spring 138. The blocking lever is located in blocking position against the action of spring 130 by engagement with the leg 164 of bracket 140.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 6 and 7, the upper slide bolt latch assembly 20 will be described, and it will be understood that the lower latch bolt assembly is of the same construction. The upper end of the rod 52 includes a flattened portion 166 which fixedly mounts a headed stud 168. The stud 168 is received through an elongated slot 17 0 provided in a lower flattened end of a rod 172. Rod 172 is slidably mounted within an apertured lateral tab 174 of a mounting bracket 176, and the upper end of the rod was received within a bore 178 of a slide bolt 180 and pinned thereto at 182. A spring 184 encircles rod 172 and seats on the tab 174 and also on the lower end of the bolt 180 to continually bias the bolt upwardly toward latched position and thereby locate the lower end of the slot in engagement with stud 168. The bolt is slidably supported by a flanged opening 186 provided in bracket 176. The wall 188 of the bracket is adapted to be secured to the rear or lock pillar face of the door.

The striker assembly mounted on the roof rail structure 16 is of stamped sheet metal construction and includes a central outwardly embossed portion 190 provided with a notch 192 to receive the bolt 180 in the latched position thereof. Upon operation of either the inside handle 26 or the outside handle 24, as previously described, to swing the bellcranks 46 and 58 and thereby shift the rods 52 toward each other, the engagement of the stud 168 with the lower end of the slot 170 will move the bolt 180 downwardly and out of the engagement with the notch 192, as shown in FIGURE 7, against the action of spring 184 to allow the door 12 to be opened. Simultaneously, the lower slide bolt latch assembly 20 will also be moved to an unlatched position. After the door is opened, the operator can then release whichever handle is being operated to allow springs 184 to return the bolts 180 to latched position. Upon closure of the door, the arcuate face 194 of the bolt will engage the embossed portion 190 of the striker to cam the bolts toward unlatched position as the bolts move along the portions 190 and into engagement with the notches 192. During this movement of the bolts, the rods 52 will remain stationary since the slots 170 will slide relative to the studs 168 so that neither the inside nor the outside handle will be operated when the door is manually closed.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 8 of the drawlngs, the modification of this invention will be described. Before proceeding with a description of this modification, it will first be noted that the outside operating handle 24 is in a generally horizontal position, as shown in FIG- URE 1, when the bolt assemblies 20 are in latched position and the closure is in closed position, and it will be further noted, with reference to FIGURE 6, that it is possible to move the bolts 180 from latched position, as shown therein, to unlatched position, as shown in FIG- URE 7, against the action of the springs 184 and without movement of the rods 52. Thus, the bolts 180 of the bolt assemblies 20 shown in FIGURE 6 are not positively locked in the latched position thereof.

In the modification of the invention, the latch operating means 22 is the same as that previously described except that the tension spring 130 is of less strength whereby the combined strength of the springs 184 of the bolt assemblies 20 is greater than the strength of the spring 130. As can be seen from FIGURE 8, the bolt assembly 29 is of the same structure as that shown in FIGURE 6, and accordingly like numerals have been used. When the closure is in closed position and the bolt 180 is in latched position, as shown in view A of FIGURE 8, the rod 52 is arranged so that the stud 168 is at the upper end of the slot 170, rather than at the lower end thereof, as shown in FIGURE 6, to thereby positively lock the bolt 180 in its latched position whereby the bolt cannot be moved relative to the rod 52. The handle 24, of course, remains in its horizontal position and the friction in the various parts of the latch operating means 22 combined with the force of the spring 130 and the combined force of the springs 184 virtually makes it impossible to move the bolt 180 from its latched position, since this can only be accomplished by movement of the rod 52.

If it is desired to open the closure, the handle 24 is rotated through an arc of approximately 45 to thereby first shift the stud 168 into engagement with the lower end of the slot 170, as shown in view B, and thereafter is rotated through a further arc of approximately 45 to move the bolt 180 to its unlatched position, as shown in view C, whereby the bolt 18% is moved to unlatched position and door 12 may be opened. Thus, rotation of handle 24 through an arc of approximately 90, from a generally horizontal position to a generally vertical position, moves the bolt 180 from latched to unlatched position. Upon manual release of the handle 24 in the vertical position thereof, the spring 184 will operate to return the bolt 180 from its position as shown in view C to its position as shown in view B wherein the stud 168 is in engagement wtih the lower end of the slot 170. In this position of the bolt, the handle 24 will be in the 45 position intermediate its aforementioned horizontally and vertically disposed terminal positions. The handle 24 will be retained in its 45 position by the action of the springs 184, the combined force of which is greater than the force of spring 130, as previously noted. It should further be noted, with reference to FIGURE 5, that the moment arm of the lever 106 with respect to the spring 130 decreases as the lever swings clockwise, whereby the force of the spring will be lessened when the lever is in a position clockwise of its position shown in FIGURE and corresponding to the 45 position of handle 24.

Thereafter, upon closure of the door 12, the engagement of the arcuate face 194 of the bolt with the embossed portion 190 of the striker will cam the bolt from its view B position toward its view C position to thereby allow the bolt 180 to move into latched engagement with the notch 192 of the striker assembly. This movement of the bolt takes place without any movement of the rod 52 since the stud 168 is at the lower end of the slot 170 in the view B position whereby the bolt can shift relative to the rod without moving the rod. Thereafter, the handle 24 may be rotated from its 45 position to its horizontal position, as shown in FIGURE 1, to shift the rod 52 upwardly from its view B position to its view A position and thereby move the stud 168 into engagement with the upper end of the slot 170 and again positively lock the bolt in its latched position.

Thus, this invention provides a new and improved closure latch assembly.

What is claimed is:

1. Latch operating means for a pair of spaced latch assemblies, comprising, in combination, a support frame, a pair of levers swingably mounted on said frame, means interconnecting said levers for simultaneous swinging movement thereof in directions opposite to each other, means operatively connecting each of said levers to a respective latch assembly, first operating means including an operating lever operatively connected to one of said pair of levers for operating said latch assemblies, second operating means operatively connected to said one lever for operating said latch assemblies, said second operating means including a pair of operating levers and a shiftable link interconnecting said operating levers, first blocking means movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to said first operating lever, and said second blocking means movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to said shiftable link.

2. Latch operating means for a latch assembly, comprising, in combination, a support frame, a latch operating lever mounted on said frame, means operatively connecting said lever to said latch assembly, operating means operatively connected to said lever for operating said latch assembly said operating means including an operating lever movable between operating and non-operating positions, blocking means including a blocking lever selectively and alternately movable independently of said operating lever between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to said operating means, and common biasing means interconnecting said operating means lever and said blocking lever, said biasing means biasing said operating means lever to a non-operating position and being movable between a first overcenter position and a second overcenter position to selectively and alternately bias said blocking lever to blocking and unblocking positions.

3. Latch operating means for a latch assembly, comprising, in combination, a support frame, a latch operating lever mounted on said frame, means operatively connecting said lever to said latch assembly, operating means operatively connected to said lever said operating means including an operating lever movable between operating and non-operating positions, means locating said operating means lever in said non-operating position thereof, blocking means including a blocking lever selectively and alternately movable independently of said operating lever between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to said operating means, spaced means locating said blocking lever in each of said positions and common biasing means interconnecting said operating means lever and said blocking lever, said biasing means biasing said operating lever into engagement with said locating means and being movable between a first overcenter position and a second overcenter position to selectively and alternately bias said blocking lever into engagement with either of said spaced locating means.

4. Latch operating means for a pair of spaced latch assemblies, comprising, in combination, a support frame, a pair of levers swingably mounted on said frame, means interconnecting said levers for simultaneous swinging movement thereof in directions opposite to each other, means operatively connecting each of said levers to a respective latch assembly, first operating means operatively connected to one of said levers for operating said latch assemblies, said operating means including an operating lever movable between operating and non-operating positions, second operating means operatively connected to said one of said levers for operating said latch assemblies, blocking means including a blocking lever selectively and alternately movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to said first operating means, and common biasing means interconnecting said operating means lever and said blocking lever to bias said operating means lever to a nonoperating position and selectively and alternately bias said blocking lever to blocking and unblocking positions.

5. Latch operating means for a pair of spaced latch assemblies, comprising, in combination, a support frame including a base wall and a side wall, a pair of bellcrank levers swingably mounted on said base wall, each including an arm extending outwardly of said side wall, gear means interconnecting said levers for simuultaneous swinging movement thereof in directions opposite to each other, means operatively connecting said arm of each of said levers to a respective latch assembly, an operating lever mounted on said side Wall and including a notched portion receiving an arm of one of said levers therethrough for operating said latch assemblies, blocking means including a blocking lever selectively and alternately movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to said operating lever, and biasing means interconnecting said frame and said operating lever to selectively and alternately bias said blocking lever to blocking and unblocking positions.

6. Latch operating means for a pair of spaced latch assemblies comprising, in combination, a support frame, a first lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said frame, a second lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said frame, means interconnecting one end of said first lever with one end of said second lever for coordinated simultaneous movement of said levers about the respective pivots thereof, said coordinated movement-of said levers moving the other ends of said levers in directions opposite to each other about the respective pivots thereof, means operatively connecting said other end of each of said levers to a respective latch assembly, operating means operatively connected to one of said levers for moving both of said levers to simultaneously operate both of said latch assembies, and blocking means selectively movable between blocking and unblocking positions to selectively block or permit operation of said operating means.

7. Latch operating means for a pair of spaced latch assemblies comprising, in combination, a support frame, a first lever pivotally mounted intermedate its end on said frame, a second lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said frame, means interconnecting one end of said first lever with one end of said second lever for coordinated simultaneous movement of said levers about the respective pivots thereof, said coordinated movement of said levers moving the other ends of said levers in directions opposite to each other about the respective pivots thereof, means operatively connecting said other end of each of said levers to a respective latch assembly, first operating means operatively connected to one of said levers for moving both of said levers to simultaneously operate said latch assemblies, second operating means operatively connected to said one lever to simultaneously operate said latch assemblies, and blocking means respective to each of said operating means and movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,764,438 Freysinger June 17, 1930 2,143,510 Dean Jan. 10, 1939 2,637,583 Roethel May 5, 1953 2,811,382 Harman Oct. 29, 1957 2,987,336 Kramer June 6, 1961 

2. LATCH OPERATING MEANS FOR A LATCH ASSEMBLY, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A SUPPORT FRAME, A LATCH OPERATING LEVER MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID LEVER TO SAID LATCH ASSEMBLY, OPERATING MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID LEVER FOR OPERATING SAID LATCH ASSEMBLY SAID OPERATING MEANS INCLUDING AN OPERATING LEVER MOVABLE BETWEEN OPERATING AND NON-OPERATING POSITIONS, BLOCKING MEANS INCLUDING A BLOCKING LEVER SELECTIVELY AND ALTERNATELY MOVABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID OPERATING LEVER BETWEEN BLOCKING AND UNBLOCKING POSITIONS WITH RESPECT TO SAID OPERATING MEANS, AND COMMON BIASING MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID OPERATING MEANS LEVER AND SAID BLOCKING LEVER, SAID BIAISING MEANS BIASING SAID OPERATING MEANS LEVER TO A NON-OPERATING POSITION AND BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN A FIRST OVERCENTER POSITION AND A SECOND OVERCENTER POSITION TO SELECTIVELY AND ALTERNATELY BIAS SAID BLOCKING LEVER TO BLOCKING AND UNBLOCKING POSITIONS. 